The world seems to be getting worse. Environmental disasters, economic nosedives, and phones making everyone seem more self-centered. In cases like this, many ask: What seems to be missing from the world?
Answers Everywhere
And for each person that asks this question, there is an equal number of people claiming to have the answer. Some preach that their religion is the one true way, while other online influencers believe their life hack is the one key component that everyone is missing.
Kindness Is Key
The truth is: the world is too complex for simple answers. What works for one person may not work at all for the other. But amongst the masses one thing seems to be agreed upon. More people need to practice kindness.
How to Educate
This common consensus often wiggles its way into discussion over education of all places. There seems to be a growing concern on teaching kindness, empathy, and other relevant emotional skills to the nation’s youth.
Small But Mighty
In all those talking about making changes to teach America’s kids kindness, a small band seems to actually be attempting to implement these desired changes. One of these people is an author by the name of Jackson Cooper.
The Heart of It
According to Cooper, kindness contains a lot more to it than just being nice. It requires a high amount of awareness of oneself and the people within their social orbit. This is the premise for Cooper’s book.
Emotional Exploration
As a member of the queer community, Cooper understands the shortfallings of those who fail to practice kindness. In his book A Kids Book About Kindness, he explores a question for both child and adult readers.
Pessimism Abound
The question: is it ever too late for someone to learn and apply the golden rule? Many naysayers claim that for most people, there is a cutoff point. Public image suggests that kindness is one lesson that cannot be learned after a certain stage.
Silver Linings
Cooper disagrees with the public, however. His book is molded by his experience as a queer person, and while the book does not directly fixate on sexuality or gender identity, it does do something quite significant.
Roadmap to Kindness
The book acts as a guide for parents, teachers, and other role models to young individuals. It provides a proper way to open up the conversation on queer people, helping readers understand themselves and others in a child-appropriate way.
Foreshadowing a Need
The book comes at a pivotal moment, especially with the November election lurking around the corner. Much of modern politics gravitates towards the discussion of queer rights and representation, particularly involving trans people.
What Goes Into It All
When asked about the writing process, Cooper opened up about its queer undertones, noting that “The more that I started writing it, I found those intersections with other parts of my life, like being a queer person,”.
A Need to Read
Cooper also commented on the need for such a book, continuing with “There were a lot of queer people early on in my life who showed me kindness that made me feel comfortable being queer and coming out and embracing my full self.”
Guiding the Conversation
Cooper’s book is specifically written for younger minds, including plenty of engaging formats for kids to follow along. Some of these formats include prompts for discussion that kids can follow, as well as vibrant artwork to keep their attention.
A Book for All Ages
The most critical belief instilled in Cooper’s work is that kindness begins with how we treat ourselves. Cooper insists that this is a key aspect to creating healthy relationships with others. And while the book is marketed towards kids, adults can still take away a lot from reading it.
Turning It Around
“All the same things that we do for others or do to be kind to others we need to turn it around and do it to ourselves,”. With this in mind, adults can open up conversations with their young ones that they may find as equally educational.
Many Forms of One Emotion
Within the book, Cooper covers that kindness can be seen in many different actions. Whether it’s through words of kindness or just listening to someone having a bad day. One prompt guides readers to do one kind thing for both oneself and another person.
Persevere Through the Storm
Despite its heartfelt character, the book is sure to undergo some backlash from traditionalists with children. However, for every one parent that cries for the books banning, there will be another that has a life-changing moment with their child.
The post Conservative Parents Shun Queer Representation in Kid’s Kindness Book first appeared on Pulse of Pride.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Heidi Besen.
